Ribbon-inking machine.



J. M. SCHUTZ.

RIBBON INKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 111113171913.

1 1 1 5,341 Patented Oct. 27, 1914;]

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

J. M. SGHUTZ. RIBBON INKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR 17,1913.

Patented 0013.27. 1914 3 sHllfilv HLBT J. M. SGHUTZ.

RIBBON INKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.17,.1913.

Patented Oct. 27, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 8 i shall be easily adjustable to ink ribbons trsrrnn STATES PATENT GEFICE.

JOSEPH M. SCH'UTZ, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNGI, BY MES NE ASSIGNMENTS, TO STANDAIKD BIIBBON MACHINE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ARIZONA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

meson-mum's MACHINE.

Patented Oct. 27, 1914.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Joshua M. Sor rrrz, a, citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ribbon-Inking Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in inking devices and has particular reference to improvements in ribbon inking machines.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple device which shall render it comparatively easy to quickly ink a ribbon of a'ny width, within the capacity of the device, and to any intensive or depth of color.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of simple construction Whicl;

0 different widths and to different depths of :olor.

A further object of my invention is to provide a ribbon inking device which can be readily, quickly and easily adjusted to properly aline the ribbon supply s 001 and rewind spool to accommodate rib ons of different widths and spools of various lengths and having central openings of different diameters or sizes.

A. further object or" my invention is to provide a ribbon inking device of such simplicity of construction, adjustment and manipulation, that it shall be a practical office device for general oilice use, and capable of i being used successfully by the usual office employees who are not especially skilled in such matters.

A further object of my invention is to reduce the cost of inked ribbons, particularly for use on typewriting, duplicating and multiple printing machines, to reduce the wear and tear on such machines and ribbone, and particularly to reduce the efiort or" the machine manipulator in producing well written and evenly inked Work.

My invention resides in a ribbon inking machine, having rollers between which the inked ribbon is passed and by which it is pressed, means for producing a pressure to correspond with the width of the ribbon and the depth or the color desired, means for causing the ribbon to be automatically rewound upon a proper spool, and means for aiming the spool from which the ribbon is being unwound with the driven spool upon which the ribbon is being wound.

My invention also consists in the several arrangements and eo-ordinations of devices and parts, and in the features of construction by means of which the above and other objects are attained, and all as hereinafter described andpartieularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention will be more readily under stood .by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which:

Figure lis a to plan view of a ribbon inking machine em odying my invention in one form; Fig. 2 1s a side elevation of a ma chine; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section or the machine on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4: is a transverse vertical section of the ma-- chine on the line i.- l of Fig. 1; Pi 5, 6, and 7 are detailed views showing various forms of spools upon which the ribbon is wound; Fig. 8 is an end elevation of the driving spindle; and Fig. 9 is a diagrammatical s'ectionaljview illustrating the ad-.

justments of the spool driving and holding centers to accommodate the various widths of ribbons and shapes and sizes of spools.

The extensive use of typewriting, multiple printing and duplicating machines has created a large demand forinked ribbons. "These ribbons are usually made or silk or similar material and are soaked in ink and otherwise prepared for use upon the various machines. The operation or the machines removes some of the ink from the ribbons to the material being printed upon and consequently from the moment that the ribbons are put into use they gradually decrease in the uantity of ink which they contain and the epth or intensity of the color of the printed result gradually lessens.

In the operation of a typewriting machine it is quite a common practice to graduate the force of the blow, in striking the character, in accordance with the quantity oi ink on the ribbon, that is, as the ribbdn becomes more and more free of'ink the force of the stroke necessarily has to be increased in order to make a clear legible copy. This order to prevent the deteriorating effects above mentioned. Another feature which is of value in this connection is that in busi ness, as at present conducted, manyfacslmile typewritten letters are used in which it is necessary to insert upon a typewriting machine the individual superscription and address and for this purpose it is necessary, for the best result, to use a ribbon on the typewriting machine of a color and intensity which corresponds most nearly to the color of ink which the fac-simile typewritten letter has been printed.

My invention is particularly useful in rapidly producing inked ribbons of tlic desired shade or intensity of color, of rapidly and cheaply re-inking ribbons from which some of the ink has been used, and is particularly intended to supply the need of a I machine which can be built and sold at a relatively low pricey-and which is intended to be installed in an ofiicc having number of typewriters or other similar printing machines which employ inked ribbons in the production of the printed sheets.

.It will be understood that an inked ribbon which is used for '11 short time and then reinked will not only last a very much longer time itself, but will result in a more even and uniform quality of finished work being produced with less ellort on the port of the operator and with lem wearand tear on the machine One of'the features which serve tojnnke my improved inking machine of value isthe easily adjustable devices which the machine contains. of causing it to properly operate upon ribbons of various and ribbon spools having difierent central or axial openingspto ethcr with the wh h cs d'dep 0? born 8i ,o c v olor can be produc y inrention as depicted in the drawings.

', comprises a fixed pressure roll I, and an adjustable pressure roll 52 mounted in :1-

arranged spitable frame having rei'ticallp ed y mount side members 3 are rigi in position upon a suitablebase 4. The side frames are prorided 'n'ith oppositely projecting parallel extensions" 5 :and 6 u n which are carried tirely thc rib on supply spool 7 and the bon rerwind spool 8. I These spools, whic tors-or bearings. .As illustrsted in the draw- -upon one of t e ings, Ipreferably arrange the pressure rolls -1 and 2 one above the other. I fix roll 1 at roller 'with such a pressure that the ribbon which is passed between the rollers will have all superfluous ink removed therefrom. Beneath the pressure roller and between the side frames 3 I place an open-topped ink-well 9 and I cause the ribbon, in its passage from the supply roller to the rewind roller, to be immersed in the ink contained in the ink-Well before it reaches the pressure rollers. This ink-well is of a size to fitbetween the side frames 3 and it rests upon the base 4.

The lower roller 1 is mounted on a shaft 10 to rotate therewith, and the shaft is retatably mounted in suitable fixed bearings 11, 11, formed in the side frames 3. The

upper roller 2 is provided with a similar shaft 12, and instead of mounting this shaft in fixed bearings, I mount it in vertically movable bearings 13, 13, and I provide means for moving these hearings up and down for applyin pressure to the ribbon passing between 't c rollers, and for separating the rollers sired to pass the end of a ribbon between them when starting the machine into operation. F or bearings 13 up and down and thus adjusting the position of the upper roller relatively to thelower'rollerg I provide a rock shaft 14 which is substantially parallel with the axis of the roller and is arranged above them, this rock shaft is mounted in a seporator or spacer member 15, the top ends of the side frames 3 apart and this spacer is held in position by bolts 16 which pass through the spacer and through the two side frames The shaft. 14 is mounted in a suitable bearing opening l7, formed the spacer member 15, and is provided on each end with a longitudinally extending .eccentrically arranged pin 18, the pins on the two ends being i iaxial alinewhich spaces at times when it is dce v p c ve P n -918M2 1 respective ends of the shaft 12 by meansbfi connecting rods 19 rods con sists-of an up 13 fitting thesh 12,:m'd a fight-andJeft hand'threadedconnecting member 22which screws into each of these bearing members,

consequentl at times when it is. desired to adjust the ength of the connectingrod the connecting threaded member is rotated one direction or the other, to shorten ,or

lengthen the rod. As shown in Figs. 2 and will be described later, are carried upon a(ifbistable pivot cen-v I make the. lower bearings 13 to fit smoothly which are adjustablcjn' length, each of these conncctin r bearing 20 a apted tojfit: ins 18, a lower bearing" raised and lowered through the connecting rods 18, and I provide means whereby the rock shaft can be quickly rotated through about 180 degrees, as shown in dottedline in Fig. 3, whereby the upper roll may be' quickly lifted to about one-eighth of an inch, thus quickly separating the rolls sufficiently to permit the passage of the end of the ribbon or to permit the passage between the rolls of any metallic hook or clip which may be fastened upon a ribbon which is to be re-inked. This means ofrotating the rock shaft 14 comprises a centrally arranged lever 23 which is mounted in a transverse opening 2i in the central portion of a rock shaft and the spacer member 15 is provided with a central slot or opening 25 which permits the movement of the rod 23 from one position to theother and which also cooperates with the rod to prevent endwise movement of the rock shaft let. Normally the outer end 26 of the rod 23 extends substantially horizontally and for the purpose of adjusting the pressure upon the ribbon between the rolls I provide a movable weight 27 which is adapted to hang upon the rod 23 and be secured in its adjusted position thereon by means of a set screw 28.

For the purpose of quickly adjusting the pressure upon the ribbon to correspond with certain predetermined results, I provide certain markings 29 on the rod 23 for facilitating the placement of the weight. As indicated, I have arranged three groups of markings, and each group indicates three separate positions of the weight, and I preferably provide weights of such a size that asingle 'cnd of the rod 23, would serve to give a weight serves for several difierent widths of ribbon. As indicated in the drawings, the weight 27 is so placed as to give a medium depth of color upon a ribbon substantially one-half inch wide as it is placed on the middle line of the middle set of markings. This-same weight, if placed nearer the outer pressure sutlicient to cause the ribbon to be inked with the least amount of ink, and if placed nearer to the rock shaft '14 it would produce only pressure enough to leave suf ficient ink on the ribbon to cause it to provide printing of the deepest or greatest in tensity desired. Each group of markings serves for seve al widths of ribbon. the' weight having to be adjusted for each width of ribbon which a machine is inking and for each degree of intensity or depth of lower roll, one end mounted in suitablebearings 31 in the frames 3, 3. Upon one outer end of this shaft I mount pinion 32 and upon adjacent ends of the shafts 10 and 12 I provide gear wheels 33 adapted tomesh together and the lower one arranged to mesh with the pinion 32, and upon the same end of the shaft 30 I provide a hand crank 3% by which the shaft 30 may be rotated and'through which the medium of the rolls 1 and 2 are driven. The outer end of the shaft 30 carries a belt pulley 35, which is adapted to drive the re-wind roll in a manner to be described.

In one of the parallel projections 6 of the frames 3 I rotatably mount a driving center or head 36 which is arranged axially parallel with the rollers and is mounted in a suitable bearing 37. It carries upon its outer end a belt-pulley 38 arranged in alinement with the pulley 35 on the shaft 30, and power is transmitted from the pulley 35 to the pulley 38 preferably by means of a spiral wound wire belt 39 trained over these two pulleys. The driving head 36 is provided with a conical centering end 40 which is fiattened on three sides providing it with three radially extending driving edges 41, and this head isrelatively large in diameter. This head is adapted to center and drive rewind spools 42 of differing dimensions and sha es and having central axial openings of di erent sizes. The different makes of typewriting machines for ribbons .of different widths and the spools upon which these ribbons are wound are of different sizes, sha es and dimensions. One of the essential eatures of a machine which is to be useful for re-inking typewriter ribbons is that it shall accommodate these ribbon spools which vary in' dimensions and shapes. .As indicated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 I have shown several different forms of these re-wind spools The spool shown in Fig. 5 has a very small central opening and consequently the driving center enters but a short distance into the spool. The form of spool shown in Fig. 6 has a, larger central opening 43,and the spool, is shown as being considerably wider on its face than the spool shown on Fig. 5. The spool shown in Fig. 7 has a still larger central opening and consequently the center enters still farther within this spool. In Fig. 9 I have indicated, by means of the dotted lines 4, 4, the relative positions which the edge of the ribbon would occupy in conjunction with the several. spools shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7. It will be seen that the edge 45 of the ribbon varies in its position transversely of the machine and in relation to the driving center 36, which is fixed transversely of the machine. F or the purpose of holding the spools upon the driving center 36, I provide an adjustable smooth conical center l6 in axial alinement with the center 36 and sdjustably mounted in the ex tension 6 of the opposite frame 3. This center is carried upon the inner end of a screw i7 mounted in a suitably threaded opening 48 in the frame 3 and can be quickly ad jusbed from and toward the fixed center 46 to accommodale and properly supporl; spools of different sizes. In mounting a spool upon the center 36 it is forced upon the center 36 by means of the adjustable center 46 until the driving edges l1 bite into the material of the spool sulliciently to drive it and then the center 4:6 is drawn back juss suliiciently to permit the drive center 36 to rotate this spool freely, the center -16 is then fixed in its adjusted position by means of the thumb nut 49 which clumps the threaded rod againsi; rotation Al: the outer ends of the extensions 5 I mount a pair of smooth conical centers 50 and each of these centers is similar to the smooth center 46 at the opposite ends of the machine, that is they are arranged in axial alinement and are parallel with the axes rolls 1 and 2, and they are both capable of being adjusted transversely of the machine.

When the inked ribbon is being wound upon the flanged rewind spools it is usually unnecessary to guide the ribbon in any other manner than as described, but when spools which have no end flanges are used, such as shown in Fig. 6, it is necessary to guide the ribbon between the pressure rolls and the rewind spool. For this purpose I provide a 'sfisfionsry transverse shaft or rod R mounted in the side frames 3 and arranged between the re-wind spool and the pressure rollsin'tlie path of the ribbon. I provide two adjustable collars'or flanges R mounted on this shaft and held in their adjusted positions by any suitable means such as set screws R hen adjusting the machine to ink a certain size of ribbon and especially one which is to be Wound upon a spool which hasno flanges, the adjustable flanges R are loosened and moved out of the way and when the ribbon has been properly connected from the sup ly flanges l are moved into contact with the op 'te edges of the ribbon and secured in ad usted positions. l

My machine is capable of being used for inking a new ribbon, that is one which has not been inked before, and this new ribbon is usually supplied in a very large single layer roll as shown at 51. This roll is usuried to the re-wind spool and secured thereto all; supplied with a Wooden 001 of a length equal to the width of the ribbon, and

aril used ribbon is trans ple, very easily done and the munipuls spool to the re-wind spool the,

it IS bon after it is inked. Eu

spool to s similar spool in ferred 1S re-mlred. The prcces of the ribon is reduced to s is For the purpose of cans 1 to be immersed in the ink, i tangular removable frame which ranged between the side chine and is adopted is inlo 'ihe ink-well 9. This 1. bars 54 connected toge't'iier by bar 55 and a lower end her This frame is mounted in position between a rigid conical center 57 carried by one of the frames and an adjustable conical center 58 carried by the opposite frame 3 and adapted to be secured in position by means of a thumb nut 59. This frame 53 substantially fills the space lllfi between e two frames 3 of the machine, and the up or end bar is in the form of a cylinder an adapted to serve as a guide which supports the ribbon in its passage from the supply spool 52 to the lower bar 56 of the frame 53. The ribbon is adapted to pass downwardly from the upper bar 55 between the side bars 54 of the 1 me 53 around the lower cross bar 5'6, which is also in rho form of a cylinder, and thence up again so the pressure rolls between which it then passes at times when a short ribbon is being placed in the machine for inking, or at'times when the new supply spool is being mounted, the frame is loosened from its position and raised out of the machine when'the ribbon A can be properly threaded into it'srelatire position, thereafter the frame 53 is lowcred into place, its lower end entering the ink well and then the frame is securedin position between the conical centers.

At times when the ribbon is being threaded through the machine, the upper roll is raised to its upper position and the ribbon having been-threaded through the frame and between the rolls 1 and 2, is thence ea:-

in any suitable manner. Thereafter (he head lO and causes the ribbon, which passes the pressure rolls 1 and 2, to be rc-wound on the rewind spool. it is to be noted that as the ribbon is wound on to the re-wind spool this spool will continually re-wind at a faster and faster speed relatively to the movement of the ribbon between the pressure rolls and to compensate for this variation in movement, the belt 39 slips upon its pulleys. I proportion the pulleys in such a manner that even when the re-vv'ind spool is nearly empty it will talze up all the slack of ribbon which is passed between the pressure rolls. It will now be clear that by means of my machine I can ink ribbons to any desired color, simply by placing the desired color of ink in the ink-well 9, or by having ink-wells already prepared and filled with the desired color of ink, and replacing one ink-well holding one color of inlr with another inkwell holding the desired color of ink.

One of the most valuable features of my machine resides in the ease with which I can pro re the desired depth or intensity of color on the ribbon being inked simply by adjusting the weight 27 to the desired position on the rod 28, or by replacing the weight 2'? by a weight weighing more or less, as may be desired.

its many modifications of my invention will readily suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, I do not limit or confine my iniection or" the arrows on Fig. 2 by j 1 vention to the specific structures herein shown and described. I claim: 1 1. In a ribbon inking machine a air of 1 parallel pressure rolls between whlch the ribbon passes after it has been inked, a shaft Ear-ranged parallel with the pressure rolls '1 having an eccentric at each end, a central journal at each end of one of said rolls, a connecting roe, connecting each said journal with a respective eccentric on said shaft, a lever projecting from said shaft, a movable weight on said lever adapted to force said rolls together to produce pressure on the ribbon, said weight being adjustable, from and toward the shaft to vary the pressure.

2. In a ribbon inking machine a pair of pressure rolls geared together for rotation, and arranged one above the other, a power shaft located below the lower roll and carrying a gear for driving the rolls, means for moving the upper roll up and down comprising a shaft arranged above the upper roll, alined eccentric pins on the ends of the upper shaft, movable hearings in which the upper roll rotates, adjustable connecting rods connecting the eccentric pins with respective movable bearings, a lever carried by said upper shaft and a weight on said lever, said lever being movable from a horizontal position in which the weight operates to press the rolls together to a substaptially vertical position, whereby the upper roll is separated from the lower roll.

In testimony whereof, l have hereunto set my hand, this 15th day of March, 1913, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH M. SGHUTZ.

Witnesses EDWARD F WILSON, ll-l. SIMON. 

